Russia claims it downed a record 1,671 drones—as fires burn across Moscow Oblast
A drone struck another Wildberries warehouse, but this one caused no major fire as others had in previous strikes.
Russian officials have claimed to have shot down a record 1,671 Ukrainian drones over the course of 24 hours, as fires continue to burn across Moscow Oblast. The strikes hit Moscow and surrounding areas overnight into August 18, causing power outages, fires, and damage to infrastructure. Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+ reported footage of drones striking an apartment building, a town east of Moscow, and a retail pavilion near a shopping mall.
Moscow Oblast Governor Andrei Vorobyov stated that 150 drones were downed, three people were injured, and debris damaged homes. The attack knocked out electricity for over 5,000 customers and 46 socially significant facilities, with 109 transformer substations offline. Russia's Defense Ministry reported destroying 791 drones across 15 regions and Crimea, while Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin claimed 620 drones targeted the capital region.
Ukraine's military did not claim responsibility for the attacks, which targeted strategic facilities, including warehouses of the Russian online retailer Wildberries, an ammunition depot in Donetsk Oblast, and drone-control points in several Russian oblasts. Ukrainian defense-technology company Fire Point reported drones flying over the region, citing explosions near a Moscow oil refinery and potential hits on warehouse infrastructure.
The drone attacks have cost Wildberries at least 17% of its warehouse space and forced it to seek storage in Kazakhstan.
Written by urgent.news from Euromaidan Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
